With three more sacks yesterday, Browns DE Myles Garrett is on pace to shatter T.J. Watt’s single-season sack record. Watt tied Michael Strahan for the all-time NFL record with 22.5 sacks during the 2021 season. Prior to this season, Garrett had never had more than 16, but he is breezing past that.
Over the past four weeks, Garrett has recorded 13 sacks, including three games of three-plus sacks. He is just the 15th player to record three-plus sacks in consecutive games, tying that record. On top of that, he is the first player to record 13-plus sacks in a four-game span. Only two other players have ever recorded 11, Aldon Smith and Richard Dent. On the season, he now has 18, a new career high.
And the Browns still have six games left to play. Myles Garrett needs five sacks over a six-game span to set the new all-time NFL single-season sack record at 23. Given that he is averaging 1.64 sacks per game, I think he stands a fair chance. Meanwhile, T.J. Watt recorded one sack yesterday, albeit a strip-sack recorded for a touchdown.
Up until perhaps this season, one could easily debate Garrett and Watt as the best defender in the NFL. This season, Garrett has clearly been on another level, dominating even as the Browns flail around. Perhaps they feel some glimmer of hope now with Shedeur Sanders, but it’s premature to say.
Garrett only had one forced fumble on the season going into yesterday’s game, but he forced two against the Raiders, giving him three on the year. That is one off his career high and tied for the third-highest total he has had in a season. T.J. Watt, in comparison, has seven sacks on the year with three forced fumbles. But he also has an interception and seven passes defensed, while Garrett has none.
Myles Garrett had a three-game streak earlier this season in which he didn’t record even half a sack. After two in the opener and 1.5 in Week 2, he recorded half a sack in Week 3 and then went dry. But he has accumulated 14 sacks in the past five games, certainly juicing his numbers.
Were he to continue his current pace through the final six games, Garrett would finish with 28 sacks this season. That would qualify as shattering Watt’s record, jointly owned with Strahan. Players rarely keep up historic paces, of course, but he certainly has wiggle room.
Needless to say, Garrett only needs to average a sack per game the rest of the way to break Watt’s record. It’s possible that he doesn’t break the record, but right now, he’s on a heater. And the Browns still play the Titans, who have given up more sacks than anybody else this year. But they also face some of the stingiest teams, like the 49ers, Bears, Bengals, and Steelers. So Garrett had better hope that he stocks up with another big game against Tennessee.
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